Adapt-Strive & Bridge (Buice Center)
Principal: Kim Mankin
1225 Northbrook Parkway, Suwanee, GA 30024
School Highlights
The following school highlights showcase how ADAPT-STRIVE and The BRIDGE are fulfilling Gwinnett County Public School's four strategic priorities of Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence. Visit the School Profile Dashboard to find more detailed data on our school.
- The ADAPT, STRIVE, and Project Search programs had 58 students who completed their vocational and community school goals through the Buice Center. In addition, we had 12 students who exceeded vocational and community expectations and moved on to our STRIVE program. Two ADAPT students were chosen for the Project Search opportunity hosted at Scanfil in Buford, Georgia. Project Search had two students who completed the program's requirements and three have left the program with employment.
- During the 2022-2023 school year, we referred six students to the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. We referred 46 students to Pre-Ets services which were conducted in-house by Bobby Dodd, Hi-Hope, and Tommy Nobis.
- Central Gwinnett High School hosted our transition program for the BRIDGE high school students, while Northbrook Middle School hosted it for the middle school students. Through our transition programs, ten students returned to their home schools and returned to traditional education programs. Two students from the BRIDGE program graduated with general education diplomas on May 23rd, 2023.
- We employed Stephanie Harmon as our new Parent Liaison and created the BUICE Parent Resource Center. This year we hosted ten Parent Academies for parents of all of our four programs. The Parent Academies covered a variety of topics from academics, behavior support, and mental health resources.
- During the 2022-2023 school year, we created an Equity committee which had the task of viewing all of our structures and systems through the county's equity protocol. The team assisted in creating a Career Day and Workforce Panel for our BRIDGE students.
- The ADAPT and STRIVE programs scheduled two field trips for the first time post-Covid to help students with their transition and community goals. ADAPT students enjoyed an outing to the Gwinnett Stripers' education day where they were able to practice their community skills. The STRIVE program took over Downtown Lawrenceville where they were able to use the transportation and communication skills they had learned to help navigate through an unfamiliar place. Students in both programs showed excellent skills through the work on their goals and objectives.
- The 22-23 data for post-secondary outcomes increased in all areas showing significant improvement in the participation of students in post-secondary options. This increase was seen due to the hard work of our transition team who communicated on a 9-week basis with parents and students to ensure that transition goals were being met. They also helped provide support and resources from outside agencies to parents to help in this important transition planning.
- The special events committee held two events for our students from all four programs. A Winter Gala was held for 12+ students at the Aurora Theater in downtown Lawrenceville. The dance was a huge success and was highlighted by parents and students alike on social media. The 2nd annual Family Fun Night was held in March and brought all four programs together, along with their families and staff, for a night of games, trivia, karaoke, and food.
- The Buice Center congratulated five new teachers on completing of the Teach Gwinnett program through the 2022-2023 school year. In all, we had over 19 new staff members participate in our New Teacher Mentoring program through the Buice Center. Mentors from Teach Gwinnett, Mentor Gwinnett, and the Special Education office helped our teacher navigate these important first years of teaching.
- New to the Buice Center this year was the creation of both the Wellness and SEL teams. The Wellness team secured a generous donation from Northside Hospital to create of our staff wellness room. They also hosted monthly wellness BINGO events that got staff moving, creating, engaging, and reflecting on their mental health. In addition, the wellness and PBIS teams hosted three events for staff to be able to gather together for lunch and games.